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Can anyone help me find information about this book, please?
3 deviants said
Sorry, but I couldn't find something usefull ;.; (Sniff, sniff. Thank you, though TvT )
No deviants said
Oh, I found this! (comment)
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Featured By Owner
Feb 10, 2012
Hobbyist Digital Artist
what r u trying to look for in this book is is something u need?
Featured By Owner
Feb 10, 2012
Hobbyist General Artist
Yep. I need to read it.
Featured By Owner
Feb 10, 2012
Hobbyist Digital Artist
ok im guessing its for school um this is what it said on one page
In this sequel to The Men From the Boys, Jeff O'Brien navigates the gay party circuit scene from Provincetown to San Francisco, from Montreal to Palm Springs, in the company of friends, tricks, old loves, and irresistible strangers. Jeff and his on-again, off-again lover Lloyd are both thirtysomething professionals grieving the death of their mentor Javitz. Jeff and his protégé Henry bounce from party to party, finding it easy to forget their grief when they're on the dance floor. Henry's repressed feelings of love for Jeff propel him on a quest to discover his own identity amid the often seedy world of sex for cash. Meanwhile, Lloyd deals with his own grief by rejecting the sex-and-drugs culture and buying a guesthouse in Provincetown with an eccentric widow. A slice of gay life in the 21st century, and a story about the meaning of friendship and the acceptance of self. --From publisher description.
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Poll History
Jun 10, 2018
Hello, peeps! The Sidon x Link beach towel is now available at Teespring! (June only)
Apr 26, 2018
I'm thinking of designing a summer themed beach towel for this summer, what appeals the most to you?
Apr 24, 2018
Hey, guys! This cute BoTW Link sticker is only available for the next 21 hours at Teespring
Apr 8, 2018
I've been thinking of uploading more of my personal art...
Aug 21, 2017
If Link (any Link) wore a lipstick, what color would it be?
Jan 10, 2017
Just pick one and pretend you don't see a pattern:
Dec 21, 2016
The art Giveaway is open now!
Dec 13, 2016
Going to have a drawing Giveaway, that means I'll be taking in some requests. Stay tuned for future rules on how to participate!
Nov 5, 2016
NEWS: For all the dedicated fans of SHC, the next part is fully written. It should be up very soon after edition
Mar 29, 2015
You guys picked Tutorials as something you'd like from me, what kind?
Mar 23, 2015
Become my art supporter at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kimsukley?alert=1
Dec 26, 2014
AGE wise, what are you?
Apr 23, 2014
How bad is discrimination against homosexuals in your country for YOUR generation? (In mine it's minimum)
Apr 21, 2014
Have you ever experienced some sort of emotional roller coaster out of nowhere where you feel Rage, Sadness, silliness and happiness at extremes at the same time and just can't control it? If so, do you know what this could be?
Mar 23, 2014
I am thinking about making some adoptables (I design a character you can buy and it becomes yours). What appeals to you?
Mar 19, 2014
Continued from last poll: I am going to draw my human versions of some Pokémon, where should I start? (Regardless of the Poke's gender, I'll draw only boys and men)
Mar 18, 2014
Which Pokémon are the most popular in your opinion? (Besides Pikachu )
Feb 26, 2014
I saw this pair of huge ass earrings that look a lot like the heart container from Skyward Sword. Should I buy them? xD (I know I won't wear them... they are 25cents, haha)
Jan 30, 2014
Which of these should I draw in my style next? (Comment if you must) [Please, no relevant characters like Midna, Tetra, Zelda, etc.]
Dec 28, 2013
Which of these should I draw more? [You can suggest if you must]
Dec 27, 2013
I'm trying to become a vegetarian. Are you a vegetarian?
Dec 10, 2013
What would you like to receive as a gift this Christmass?
Dec 8, 2013
In Skyward Sword, the spiders over the vines you can climb...
Nov 28, 2013
I ate the pink polish from one of my nails by accident.
Nov 19, 2013
What kind of step by step art tutorial would you be interested in seeing from me?
Nov 1, 2013
I am going to record my drawing/coloring process. What are you most interested in?
Oct 31, 2013
So yeah, Swapnote died. (SpotPass no longer available)
Oct 29, 2013
What advice would you give to a person who feels ugly and wants to change how they look? This person will not accept a "You are beautiful just the way you are" as an answer.
Oct 29, 2013
Are you gay? (as in homo, not happy)
Oct 11, 2013
Am I the only one who is tired of all these new Zeldas news and stuff?
Sep 24, 2013
Sep 19, 2013
I think I have a SERIOUS obsession for Link...
Sep 17, 2013
Has my art impacted /influenced you or your views towards any character or topic?
Sep 2, 2013
According to what you can see in my art/gallery, what do you conclude I do NOT like to draw (or simply don't like in general) ?
Sep 1, 2013
If you had the opportunity to request me a drawing, what would you like me to draw?
Aug 24, 2013
How would you describe my art in one word?
Aug 22, 2013
Do you have a favorite OC or fictional character? If so, link an image of them here and say why you love them c:
Jun 18, 2013
Do you actually like the idea of Zelda being the protagonist of a LoZ game?
May 31, 2013
Hey, anyone with a 3DS wants to be friends?
May 6, 2013
Write a dictionary definition of Human.
Apr 13, 2013
¿Están interesados en SHC en español? No planeaba traducir el fic.
Apr 3, 2013
Had any experiences getting a tattoo? Was it good or was it bad?
Mar 29, 2013
I've wondered if I should do a video talking about my transgenderness... Should I? (I know it's my decision, just looking for opinions)
Mar 25, 2013
Tutorial about Link: What's the most difficult part when you try to distinguish them one from another?
Mar 21, 2013
If Link wore some kind of fashion accessories, what would he wear? (Example: Glasses, rings, heels, colored tights,etc.)
Mar 18, 2013
What kind of person do you imagine I am like in real life? (Let's break the ice)
Mar 12, 2013
What thing that I DON'T draw would be cool if I actually drew it? (I'm not saying I'll do it, eh! X'D )
Mar 7, 2013
TP Link x Midna?
Mar 2, 2013
TP Link x Ashei?
Mar 2, 2013
Anyone knows where can I get MMD models of TP Link, SS Link and WW Link ?
Feb 28, 2013
This is what goes through my mind during classes...
Feb 17, 2013
I have to pick one for my studies, which one?
Feb 3, 2013
Why do you watch me?
Jan 14, 2013
About Scattered Heart Chain (SHC, my Link fanfiction) Would it be okay if it was just written?
Jan 3, 2013
What song(s) should TP Link sing? (Yes, I'm actually trying to make this a reality XD )
Dec 22, 2012
Do you like Princess Zelda?
Dec 14, 2012
I finally made a Skype account. Note me with your info and I'll add you, hehe.
Nov 27, 2012
Is a broken heart the same as one of scattered pieces?
Nov 13, 2012
What would you like for me to draw next?
Nov 4, 2012
I'm a person who can solve life problems quick and easily. Are you?
Nov 1, 2012
How would you describe a beautiful person?
Oct 30, 2012
Do you like p0rn? I don't. I am uninterested.
Oct 27, 2012
Oct 22, 2012
I'm a seme, and you are...?
Oct 13, 2012
What should I do for my birthday? I have no idea... I didn't even remember It's almost that time of the year.
Oct 10, 2012
I need to do a drawing for an ANIME STYLE contest. What would you recommend? I have no idea what to draw...Also, it can't be fanart.
Aug 6, 2012
Olympic Gymnast Using ZELDA medley for her performance:
Aug 1, 2012
Time to share: Majora's Mask Opera piece "Anju and the Postman"
Jul 22, 2012
Guys, anybody knows of a good mp3 player? (please, nothing expensive like Apple stuff, I'm not rich)
Jul 11, 2012
My friend was diagnosed with Leukemia. What would you do in my place? How to help?
May 21, 2012
Any ideas for the next chapter of my Pipit x Link fic? http://gayboylovehouse.livejournal.com/
May 16, 2012
In honor of my new watchers, ask me any question about myself!
You can repeat questions from before (because I do remember I owe some answers)
May 14, 2012
Have facebook? If so, here's my page. Hope you hit LIKE
May 13, 2012
All you need is love
May 4, 2012
Ok, like I promised, me singing http://soundcloud.com/twilightdarkmage/cantando-mi-papi-se-comio-mis the song is from Adventure Time. I sing in spanish, though XD
May 4, 2012
Who is your favorite character of all times?
May 1, 2012
*Awkward question* Did you ever feel attraction for me?
Apr 30, 2012
Apr 29, 2012
If I were to sing a song, what kind of song would you like? (despite my girly voice (lack of testosterone(for real)))
Apr 28, 2012
Skyward fans, I found this and thought of you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
Apr 27, 2012
I am writing a biographical essay. It's practically the story that started this http://twilightdarkmage.deviantart.com/art/I-have-a-story-294545515 but written. My story with Link. Would you like to read it when I'm done?
Apr 10, 2012
Favorite dA artists? *mine are Phobs, Heise, Sakimichan and HRFleur*
Apr 9, 2012
What do you imagine when you notice I'm Mexican? *this is serious*
Apr 2, 2012
Skyward Sword: Don't you just love this song? XD http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8_LJN-dxtc&feature=autoplay&list
Apr 1, 2012
Zelda gamers, Who is your favorite Link?
Mar 26, 2012
A fact: Did you know there are 101 forms for each verb in spanish while in eglish there are only 3?
Mar 26, 2012
Would you be interested in eglish-spanish classes?
Mar 20, 2012
Would you join my second livestream?
Mar 19, 2012
Today's chat room (OPEN) read journal for more info. Topic: Ask the artist whatever you want!
Mar 18, 2012
Chat-room is open
Feb 22, 2012
5 dollar commissions. Would you be interested?
Feb 17, 2012
What music do you think I like?
Feb 15, 2012
Anything you wanna know about my personal life? O.o
Feb 13, 2012
Voice meme. Make your questions!
Or... request something silly XD
Feb 11, 2012
Choose one, please:
Feb 10, 2012
Can anyone help me find information about this book, please? http://www.google.com.mx/#sclient
Feb 5, 2012
My gender XD
Jan 21, 2012
What age do I look like??
Jan 20, 2012
Hey, guys. I'm better today. Sorry about the last pole... I'm sick and had a fever, I guess it got the best out of me D: (and for the guys who hit "yes", go ahead LOL)
Jan 19, 2012
Jan 16, 2012
What should I do:
Jan 12, 2012
Choose a name for Link's and Pipit's child:
Jan 11, 2012
Yes, I AM half chinese XD. Now, ask me anything you want. It can be about art or personal, either way I'll reply, haha.
Jan 10, 2012
Random about me: Did you know I'm half chinese? XD
Jan 3, 2012
Guys, I need help; You know my fic http://gayboylovehouse.livejournal.com/ when do you think Link and Pipit should make out? XD -stupid question TvT-
Dec 22, 2011
What should I draw now?
May 19, 2010
What do you think I should improve or try out in my artwork?
May 16, 2010
What do you like about my artwork?
May 8, 2010
Which do you like the most?
May 5, 2010
Do you like Yaoi? (yaoi is male x male love)
May 4, 2010
Would you be interested in my commissions?
May 2, 2010
What do you think I am? XD
Apr 30, 2010
OK!, now, what kind of tutorials would you like?
Apr 28, 2010
Apr 24, 2010
What kind of work would you like to see from me more often?
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New London Board of Education elects Curtin president
New London — The Board of Education on Thursday elected as its new president a three-time former mayor whose family members, dating back to the 1940s, have all served on the board.
In a 5-2 ballot vote, board members elected Margaret "Peg" Curtin the new board president. Curtin replaces Bill Morse, who nominated himself Thursday evening for the position.
"We have a very busy year coming up, and I know that we can do the best we can," Curtin said. "We are really embarking on a new era of education in the city of New London. We're talking about looking at an all-magnet school city, we've been chosen to be an extended-day school district, so we have a lot to do this year."
Delanna Muse was elected to replace member Liz Garcia Gonzalez as the board's vice president, and Jason Catala will remain the board's secretary. Catala edged out Garcia Gonzalez for the secretary position in a 5-2 ballot vote.
Morse, who said he has served three terms on the board, said the board has moved "light years ahead."
"It's been extremely gratifying and satisfying to see progress, to see a strong community, better educational opportunities. It's been a growing process for me, and I think we're on the other side of where we've been wanting to be for the last 15 years," Morse said. "We have student achievement going up in math, the prospect of much better facilities, better instruction, better administration. I think we have a better board."
Curtin, a Democrat, former mayor and city councilor, was elected to the board in November 2011. With 2,148 votes, she was the top vote-getter.
Curtin said then that she didn't think she "ever left city politics" and that "with five Democrats, we can get something done without bickering."
She said Thursday that she would try to meet with the city's mayor on a monthly basis and meet with the teachers' union periodically to listen to their suggestions.
"I need people to tell us what we're doing right and what we're not doing so right so we can perform and accept it," she said.
As a parting gift to Morse, who would customarily receive a gavel, Curtin instead gave him a New London Whalers jacket.
Officials speak out on behalf of New London father to be deported
Bob's Discount Furniture, other proposals on the table in New London


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What are terms for ensuring damage resulting in complete insulation?
Latest Updated:08/01/2005
I want to burn off a Zener diode like a fuse in the case of an overcurrent, but what are the conditions for ensuring breakage resulting in complete insulation?
Since Zener diodes are elements that assure a constant voltage with a reverse bias, they are not designed for such destruction applications.
Therefore, do not use Zener diodes for such an application. Characteristics data for such an application are not available.
The destruction mode of semiconductor products can be either open, short, or ohmic contact, so specification of a particular mode is not possible.
Suitable Products


text:
"Okja": Promotional Trailer
The Animal Liberation Front vows to take down the Mirando Corporation, in this promo for the feature film "Okja", now streaming on Netflix.
Director/Writer: Bong Joon Ho
Cast: Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Jake Gyllenhaal and Lily Collins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Year: 2017
Red Castle Films is a creative film company based in the heart of Vancouver, BC. With over a decade of experience producing films, commercials, and music videos, we approach every project with a wealth of technical knowledge, and a passion to tell great stories.
Born in Montreal, and raised on Vancouver Island, BC, Jon grew up fascinated by cinema, and began to shoot photos and develop them in the darkroom by age 6. He attended Capilano University's Film Program in 2003, and went on to shoot hundreds of episodes of internationally broadcast documentary television – from the waters of Alaska to the jungles of Mexico – before he settled in metro Vancouver. More recently, Jon premiered his short film "Disappeared" at the 2015 San Francisco Indie Fest and is currently preparing to shoot his first feature film "Crypto", a sci-fi/thriller set in the Haida Gwaii.
Born in Ecuador, and raised in the Middle East, Andy graduated Capilano University's Cinematography program in 2004, and settled in nearby Vancouver. In addition to working on several big-budget films and commercials as a member of IATSE Local 891, Andy independently produced and shot dozens of films, commercials and music videos – garnering awards at the Whistler Film Festival and the Los Angeles WebFest, and more recent nominations at the Milan International Filmmaker Festival. Andy currently divides his time between producing and cinematography, bringing his unique visual flair to every project.
Business Manager
Nolan has been in sales and marketing since 2002 and has worked in finance since 2006. He is passionate about all facets of filmmaking and has found a good balance inside Red Castle Films by combining his experience in commerce with his enthusiasm for the arts. As a Partner and Business Manager, Nolan is focused on acquiring and maintaining a multitude of professional relationships while establishing Red Castle Films as a premier company at the summit of the Vancouver Film Industry.


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You are here
Fifteen: A Reading in Celebration of Poets House
Date and Time:
November 10, 2001 - 4:00PM to 9:00PM
Event Location:
Poets House, Spring Street
A marathon poetry reading, free to the public, featuring fifteen of the nation's most luminous poets, will be held to celebrate Poets House's Fifteenth Anniversary and the opening of our newly expanded and renovated home. Lee Ann Brown, Regie Cabico, Emily Chang, Cornelius Eady, Marilyn Hacker, Kimiko Hahn, Marie Howe, Galway Kinnell, Yusef Komunyakaa, Donna Masini, Sharon Olds, Willie Perdomo, Kate Rushin, Gerald Stern, and Jean Valentine will escort the renovated Reading Room into its new life.
Event Sponsored By:
Poets House
Event Type:
Readings and Conversations


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Virgin Money linked to RBS branches
Virgin Money is being heavily linked to a bid for the network of Royal Bank of Scotland branches that were due to be sold to Santander.
The Sir Richard Branson-backed bank, which took control of nationalised Northern Rock in January, was said to have been "very keen" on the business when it was up for sale in 2010 and is now considering the opportunity to rebid.
RBS had planned to sell the assets, which feature 316 branches and 40 banking centres for small and medium-sized businesses, to Santander in a deal approved by the European Commission as a condition of receiving state-aid.
The Spanish lender agreed in August 2010 to buy the assets but on Friday night it emerged it had pulled out as it became apparent that a revised target for the purchase to be completed by the end of the year would not be achieved.
The deadline had already been put back twice and reports today said a review by management consultancy Accenture had indicated it would be mid 2014 before the deal was completed.
Buying the RBS division would more than quadruple Virgin's branch network and add a small and medium-sized business bank to its offering. According to the Sunday Telegraph, buyout firm NBNK is also having a look at the unit.
Gail Cartmail, Unite's assistant general secretary, urged the Government to press the European Commission to drop its insistence that the branches should be sold.
She said: "This latest development is causing yet more uncertainty and represents another day of chaos for loyal RBS staff."
Ms Cartmail added: "The real danger is that the European Commission's requirement to sell branches and assets by the end of 2013 will result in a fire sale and an attempt by any buyer to strip out costs and drive down terms and conditions of hard working staff."
RBS chief executive Stephen Hester promised there would be "no disruption" for customers and said the taxpayer-backed bank would begin a process to seek a new buyer.


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Curriculum VitaeTeaching Portfolio
EducationPost-Doc, Neuroscience, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, 1997PhD Molecular Biology, Vanderbilt University, 1993BS Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Austin, 1988
Research AreaNeurobiology of Alcohol Abuse and Anxiety
Academic ActivitiesEditorial Board, AlcoholChair, Institutional Chemical Safety CommitteeInstitutional Animal Care and Use CommitteeTrack 6 (Neuroscience) Student Recruitment CommitteeActivities in Medical and Graduate EducationDirector, IPP 713, Alcohol Research Data and Journal ClubLectures in: NUSC712Medical lecture: "Neurobiology of Alcohol"
Brief Summary of ResearchOur lab is currently focused on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms governing the interaction between anxiety and drugs of abuse. We are especially interested in the chronic effects of ethanol on excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter systems in brain areas regulating such behaviors. We employ several different model systems including both rodent and non-human primates. Experimentally, we utilize whole-cell patch clamp electrophysiology with in vitro brain slice and isolated cell preparations to investigate alterations in receptor pharmacology and function. We also utilize molecular biological approaches like single-cell RT-PCR and real-time RT-PCR to understand the contribution of gene expression.Please use the menu above for more information about Dr. McCool.
Phone 336-716-8506Fax 336-716-8501
Disclaimer: The information on this website is for general informational purposes only and SHOULD NOT be relied upon as a substitute for sound professional medical advice, evaluation or care from your physician or other qualified health care provider.


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In business, the number "one" is considered a bad number.
One is a bad number in your business when you only have one person on your team. It's a bad number when your only product fails on its latest launch. Or when your ONE client gets hit with a disaster and has to stop being your client.
So yeah, there are plenty of ways that one is not a great number in your business.
However, the number one is the ONLY number when it comes to conversion from email marketing. Especially if your emails aren't getting great responses or click-throughs.
How so?
Well, nine times out of ten, when I review client emails that are not getting great responses, the problem is that the email is confusing. There are too many calls to action, and there's too much going on.
In other words, when you're sending out an email, think about that ONE thing you want them to get, or want your reader to do with this email.
When they come to your Facebook page, what is the one thing you want them to do?
When they come to your blog (you've been working so hard to keep up on those killer posts), do you just want them to read your post and leave on their merry way? Or do you want them to leave you a comment, so that you can have a conversation with them?
Sounds great, right?
Well, hold on a minute. Focusing on just one thing is not always so easy.
This is where the SOFT part of business success comes into play. I call this the "SOUL TRACK" of your business. It's where you unknowingly get in your own way. We're going to go there now.
Many entrepreneurs operate from a place of lack, and they don't even realize it. What happens in that place of lack is that they grab. They fear. They can't be clear because [gasp] "Oh, my God, when they come to my website they should know I do this and they should know I do this and they should see all my free offers… and I have to just tell them EVERYTHING!"
What ends up happening when lack fractures your ability to be clear?
Well, your customer gets confused. And a confused customer doesn't take action. A confused customer doesn't click. A confused customer doesn't do anything.
They go away.
And everyone else and every distraction is just a click away.
So, ask yourself, "Am I operating from a place of lack? Am I fearful? Am I scared because people are going to come to my site and not know all of the brilliant things that I can do?' "
Turn that around.
Ask yourself instead: "What is the one thing I want them to do when they read this email?" "What is the one thing I want my customer or client or prospect to do when they visit my website?" "What is the one next step?"
Instead of fire-hosing them, think of one as the MOST powerful number in your business.
Typically, if you have a lot to say when you're sending an email, what it means is that you're not communicating enough. Yes, that's right! You're not sending out enough communications. If you're only sending an email out once a month and you have 18 things you need to let somebody know about, news items, dates, whatever you're doing, then you're not communicating with your list often enough.
What you really need to do is take it down into bite-sized portions. Once a week. Without fail, your ideal clients are going to consume your content a lot easier, and they'll be happy, and they'll love you so much more for honoring your business and serving them at a higher level.
So now here's one thing I want you to do right now. (Aw, come on! You KNEW I had to do that!)…
Leave me a comment below and tell me your 'yeah but'… or if you're already doing this have you noticed that it's really working for your clients?
Editor's note: This post was originally published in July, 2015 and has been given a slight makeover to keep it fresh and current.
Resolutions? Boring ...
Let's face it. Resolutions don't work.
Enter your information below to download my free "Word-of-the-Year Discovery Tool." It will guide you, step-by-step, on how to create your year from a higher level of intention.
Let's do this!
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Thanks Christine! When operating from a place of "lack", does that mean that you are operating from a place of "not being enough"?
Thanks Christine! When operating from a place of "lack", does that mean that you are operating from a place of "not being enough"?
You're right, you're right, I know you're right! Have done exactly 8 blogs in a year! I know this is the year that that number is going to geometrically multiply. Thank you for the nudge.
Thanks for this, I would love some info on a subject line that grabs!
I was just thinking that I can seem to get a response on my emails or my blog anymore. Not only is my writing becoming boring I think this is a big issue. Thanks Christine, I am going to approach it differently and try this clarity approach and see if that doesnt help not only simplify my newsletters but not overwhelm the reader.
Thanks for this! I'm just starting as a Life/Health coach and have included a weekly email entitled, "Agent Of Change" in my first private client package. Of course I have no idea what this will actually be, and have no clients yet, but will have my first informational presentation at a local Chiropractic office in 2 weeks so I guess I'd better get crackin. Lack of courage is my demon but I will overcome it.
Beth –
Just a thought here. Instead of telling yourself that you have a "lack of courage" (which clearly, you DON'T) – how about, "Now I am turning my courage into confidence, as I prepare for my first presentation…"
Action is experience. Experience is learning. Learning leads to confidence.
You ALREADY have courage – or you wouldn't be launching a business.
Give yourself some credit for that.
Just my two cents. :))
UGH sh$#. I can no longer say "yeah but…". No more stories or excuses. Just get up and do it. Thanks for the early morning butt kicking! xoxo
wuhl….I'm guessing that too many "click here for more details" is also too much? Giving this some serious "look at" moments. Thank you Christine
Love this! Yeah, but, is that too many emails from me? Yeah, but what fresh content can I send weekly?
Typically I email a monthly newsletter of 3 or 4 items. I will switch to the 1 item weekly.
Wow. Lots to think about here. I'm really liking that simple question "what is the one thing I want them to do?" My immediate "Yeah, but…was that I don't have time to do more than 1 monthly newsletter." Which is the truth. BUT…I have a new assistant who I could probably train to do weekly emails. I'm thinking I could still do the monthly version, then have her pull from that to do single topic emails. You've succeeded in getting my creative mind going! Thanks for that!!
As I'm thinking about sending out multiple emails each month, do you think it's best to keep with the same "look/template" for every email, or do you think it's better to mix up the looks? Right now I have a template I've been using for our monthly emails. When I begin to send out "single topic" emails should I change up a bit so it keeps within our branding but doesn't look like the newsletter template?Appreciate your feedback! Thanks! Cindy
I try to do this every week. some weeks are better than others…. I also don't like blogs that have ton of crap on their sidebar. It's always distracting from the main content. Thanks for the great reminder!
Yeah, but….. :). In this post, wouldn't the video be a secondary call to action? How has you conversion been since you've put that under your posts which also call for comments? Is it working for you?
Ok this is very helpful. I send my landscape clients a blog post and put it on FB once a quarter, but I never get a response. In person people tell me how well I write and that they blog made them feel good, but no comments or actions occur.
I am changing this up today.
I pretty consistently blog 1 or 2 times a week. I always suggest one or two things to do at the end of the blog. (Sign up for the VFO or to attend a teleseminar for example). Do I get results? Not so much. I rarely have comments or can I tell that anyone followed through. However, I have do have people tell me they read my blog. Maybe I just don't have enough traffic yet for follow through? I'm not sure if this is a yeah but …. or not.
In my enewsletter to peeps (which I have been sending once a week) I have one topic and the signup/freebie download. I have honed my focus on the blogs to a more defined focus for my consultancy.
My next goal is to get enough topics together to relaunch as a vlog. My yeah-but is probably with the web site. I whittled it down after doing UYB, but need to hone it more. I do have a lack demon that I push way back in the closet, that rears its ugly head about once a year when I get a little slow down—fear of where and when the next ideal peep will show up.
In my eZine I start the first section with some personal notes.
Then in the next section there is some product/program I´m offering (not always the same) and people have to click for more details
In the followig section is the first half of my blog for that week and people have to click "read more" to get the rest of the blog and then they are on my webpage.
I get fairly high click rate for the blog but not the product/program part…
Any suggestions?
Hi Christine,
Great post and it's perfect timing, as I'm starting once again to blog. I have the content, my struggle was how to put an effective email together and what do I want to share. I'm looking through great examples that come my way and I'm getting prepared to start a weekly email. I'm embarrassed to admit, but here goes…I have mail chimp already to go…just never had the right optin, and I have no idea how many people have actually "opted in" because I was confused on my direction. SO no more! As they say… _____ or get off the pot. It's time to stop comparing and start doing.
Thanks for the tips. Love your content.
Great information and perfect timing for me. I'm fine tuning my site after a quck lauch to have a reference for conference attendees and collected about 100 new names at the conference to send eZine to. Just thinking about the format today. And definitely need to re-work how things are offered on my site. Onward and upward.
Tammy! You are doing SO great! Proud of you, my friend! :))
Just had to share my breakthrough and some clarity with the hopes that it'll benefit another upleveler.
I watched this video…I pay for the service and love it, but am not an affiliate or owner. ; ) http://blog.awprotools.com/how-to-launch-your-product-using-list-segmentation/
It clarified my world and I now have the most simple "call to action" flow chart.
If it is in my autoresponder, it's goal is to get people to a post on my website, which thanks to this program, often filters folks into a fremium class/premium sales funnel. Obviously, at the end, the cta is "buy."
If it's on my website, the focus is always "please share."
If it's exclusive content on my autoresponder (meaning, it doesn't link them back to my blog, but instead is a whole exclusive article sent directly to their email and only available to subscribers), always has a cta of "please share."
My biggest breakthrough that this allowed is that I hate the whole social media thing, and would rather spend my time having an "office hour" phone conference with 20 of my peeps, than wasting time trolling twitter which just exhausts me, so I have absolutely no CTA that encourages conversation…but events will cover that. At least I hope it will.
Ann over at homeschool cheer dot com
p.s. Christine, I owe my entire business plan to you and I can't wait to visit someday soon.
I've not posted a blog since February. That's one thing I'm going to change.
I definitely agree that it is important not to confuse the message and only try to get your customers to do one thing per email, but personally I'm not that keen on receiving an email newsletter every week. Even if I initially loved it, I usually stop reading it because it starts to look like junk when it's constantly appearing in my inbox. Once every few weeks is great, or 2-3 emails one week and then nothing for a few weeks but I even have a company (Mooncup, look them up, they're awesome) that sends out an email only once or twice a year and I ALWAYS read it because I love what they do, the newsletter is always interesting, and I especially love the fact that they respect my inbox space.
I'm going to try sending an email to all my current customer:
I'm offering $50.00 off your August laundry service! Click Facebook link below.
body of email will say:
When you share on Facebook you open the possibilities
for others to enjoy the benefits of Inner Loop Laundry.
Then they NEVER HAVE TO DO LAUNDRY AGAIN!
dumb computer question-
when I put in the link for the client to click on it takes them to a page that says Sorry No page available.
I don't know how to make it work so that they click on the link and they are on my Inner Loop Laundry Facebook page.
Any advice?
Thanks, Christine! I just returned from your UpLevel Your Business event in Atlanta and have gained tremendous clarity!!! This post on the idea of asking for ONE thing is so helpful! I can't wait to implement this and post my results! You ROCK Christine Kane!!!


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Christian Bale Gossip
Christian Bale gossip, latest news, photos, and video.
BG004/Bauer-Griffin/ Getty Images
Few actors are as committed to Method by way of body transformation as Christian Bale, who will, as his next trick, transform himself into a peeled egg in order to play Dick Cheney. Adam McKay and his Big Short producers at Plan B—including Brad Pitt—are putting together a biopic about Cheney, with Bale in talks to star. Full Story
Christian Bale in Knight of Cups
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/ Gregg DeGuire/ Getty Images
In the 1970s, writer/director Terrence Malick made two legit masterpieces. In a decade dominated by the first wave of American independent cinema and blockbusters—everything sharks and wars amongst the stars and godfathers—Malick delivered two of the most important pieces of American cinema in the post-studio age. Full Story
Christian Bale makes out and drops out
Lester Cohen/ Christopher Polk/ Todd Williamson/ Kevin Winter/ Getty Images
Christian Bale called it a "make out" last night during the Critics' Choice Awards when he was named Best Actor in a Comedy and kissed Adam McKay and other producers at the table on the mouth before getting up on stage to collect his trophy. He also looked great in all black. There was another Christian Bale headline that was making news this weekend though. Full Story
Christian Bale: Globes low key
Wenn, Todd Williamson/ Jason Merritt/ John Shearer/ Michael Kovac/ George Pimentel / Getty Images
I don't think Christian Bale hates these events as much as, say, Tom Hardy does. But he never looks entirely comfortable either. Last night was probably as relaxed as I've seen him though. And that likely has a lot to do with the fact that he's not a favourite. Just there as part of the team. Full Story
Brange opens and closes AFI
AKM-GSI/ FJRNEWZ/ Splash News
It was announced a few weeks ago that Angelina Jolie's By The Sea, also starring Brad Pitt, will open AFI Fest in November. Click here for a refresher. It was announced today that The Big Short, starring Brad Pitt, Christian Bale, Steve Carell, and Ryan Gosling will close the festival. Full Story
Leading Men at The Fight
Jamie /Brian Prahl /Anthony J. Causi /AKM-GSI /Splash News
If you have social media, you've used it to show off. Come on. How do you resist the temptation? Are you on holiday somewhere awesome? Are you posing on the beach? Are you at that concert that everyone wants to go to? Did you get into a super exclusive party? While out for dinner, did you run into a celebrity and boast about it to all your followers? For celebrities on Saturday night, being at The Fight was the grand magnum of showing off. Full Story
Pitt, Gosling, and Bale team up for Sploosh: The Movie
In news first dreamed up by the Minivan Majority's collective vagina, Variety reported yesterday that Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling, and Christian Bale will appear in a movie together. The movie, titled Sploosh: The Movie, is about three brothers on a road trip. Full Story
Christian Bale looks hot for Malick
A trailer for Terrence Malick's Knight Of Cups was released yesterday. It's expected to be screened in competition at the Berlin Film Festival in February. Knight Of Cups was filmed concurrently with another Malick project – the one with Ryan Gosling, Michael Fassbender, and Rooney Mara about love and the Austin music scene. Full Story
Diversity in Film: The audience speaks
Previously we've talked about the problem of diversity in film from the perspective of the executives making the movies and the media covering them. This week we're going to delve into the audience's role in the equation. Full Story
Diversity in Film: The media reacts
Last week we talked about Hollywood's (ongoing) diversity problem in context to Rupert Murdoch's and Ridley Scott's outright offensive attitudes regarding the whitewashing controversy surrounded Exodus: Gods & Guyliner. Full Story
Bale quits Jobs
Christian Bale has cut ties with the Steve Jobs biopic written by Aaron Sorkin and being directed by Danny Boyle—I refuse to make any Bale/bails puns. This is the same project that potentially has Seth Rogen in to play Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak (a really nice piece of casting, if it comes through), and that Leonardo DiCaprio is rumored to have passed on in favor of The Revenant. Full Story


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I have to admit that I chortled.
Who is the face planted on the GA running up the sideline supposed to be?
saw this on reddit
People are definitely asking why I'm laughing so hard.
Speaking of the grad assist, anyone notice on long TD runs he is always gettin' it down the sideline at a dead sprint?They need to turn the hose on him. That's Markuson/Shibest type shit.
He's making sure none of the players or coaches are on the field during plays so we aren't penalized for sideline interference. I think if not he's showing his lost skills of chasing the rock. Screen door slamming NOW!
UARK meme page. http://www.facebook.com/uarkmemes
Wow...those really sucked
...If you have never been awakened by 18 emails/18 text messages adn 18 voicemails from razalert then you just can't appreciate some of those.
The 6th street one is my favorite. NO ONE calls it MLK.
Maybe I'm just an old bastard that had just been away from there for too long to "get it". Then again that's also the reason everyone thinks my phone number is eight, sixty-seven, fifty-three, zero, nine.
This might be the greatest one I've ever seen.


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As the two newest social networks, Google+ and Pinterest have gotten a lot of attention recently. It's no surprise. Each has experienced rapid growth and adoption, leaving marketers wondering how to effectively leverage each new platform for business. So which -- if either -- are worth a marketer's time? And how do you decide?
To make the decision a little bit easier, we've compiled a new ebook, Battle of the New Social Networks, which gives you a side-by-side comparison of the pros and cons of Pinterest and Google+. The ebook is available for free download -- no form completion required -- here.
So exactly how impressive is the growth of Google+ and Pinterest comparatively? We also pulled together 35 interesting facts about the two social networks to give you a better sense of how the two networks are faring. Check 'em out!
Google+ Statistics
1) As of April 2012, Google reports that Google+ now has 170 million active users. (Google) Tweet This Stat
2) Google+ attracted 20 million users within the first 3 weeks of its launch. (comScore) Tweet This Stat
3) As of January 2012, American users spent an average of 3.3 minutes on Google+. (eMarketer) Tweet This Stat
4) As of January 2012, Google+ accounted for .22% of referral traffic, falling from .24%. (Shareaholic) Tweet This Stat
5) Websites using the +1 button generate 3.5x the Google+ visits than sites without the button. (HubSpot) Tweet This Stat
6) Two of the biggest user groups on Google+ are college students and software developers. (Remcolandia) Tweet This Stat
7) 63% of Google+ users are male. (Remcolandia) Tweet This Stat
8) Over 40% of marketers report that Google+ is "useful to critical" for their business. (HubSpot 2012 State of Inbound Marketing Report) Tweet This Stat
9) Google+ is expected to attract 400 million users by the end of 2012. (Remcolandia) Tweet This Stat
Pinterest Statistics
10) Pinterest is now the 3rd most popular social network in the U.S. in terms of traffic. (Experian) Tweet This Stat
11) As of February 2012, Pinterest had accumulated 10.4 million users. (AppData) Tweet This Stat
12) Over 80% of pins are repins. (RJMetrics) Tweet This Stat
13) Pinterest is retaining and engaging users as much as 2-3 times as efficiently as Twitter was at a similar time in their history. (RJMetrics) Tweet This Stat
14) Daily Pinterest users have increased by more than 145% since the beginning of 2012. (Mashable) Tweet This Stat
15) As of January 2012, American users spent an average of 97.8 minutes on Pinterest. (eMarketer) Tweet This Stat
16) Over 1/5 of Facebook-connected users are on Pinterest daily (which represents more than 2 million members). (AppData) Tweet This Stat
17) 80% of Pinterest's users are female. (comScore) Tweet This Stat
18) Estimated unique visitors to Pinterest.com increased by 429 percent from September to December 2011. (Compete) Tweet This Stat
19) The quality of the average new Pinterest user (as defined by their level of engagement and likelihood to remain active) is high but declining. Users who have joined in recent months are 2-3 times less active during their first month than the users that came before them. (RJMetrics) Tweet This Stat
20) 30% of Pinterest users are women 25-34 years old. (Ignite) Tweet This Stat
21) Pinterest users in the U.S. are more likely to live in midwestern states than your typical social networker. (comScore) Tweet This Stat
22) The top interests on Pinterest in the U.S. include crafts, gifts, hobbies/leisure, interior design, and fashion designers/collections. (Ragan.com) Tweet This Stat
23) Etsy is the top site in terms of "source domains." (Source domains are the sites that content on Pinterest links to externally.) Google is second, followed by Flickr, Tumblr, and WeHeartit.com (RJMetrics) Tweet This Stat
24) As of January 2012, Pinterest accounted for 3.6% of referral traffic. (Shareaholic) Tweet This Stat
25) Total same-store referral traffic from Pinterest to five specialty apparel retailers rose 389% from July to December 2011. (Monetate) Tweet This Stat
26) In January 2012, Pinterest reached 11,716,000 total unique visitors. (comScore) Tweet This Stat
27) With over 11 million unique monthly visitors (and counting), Pinterest became the fastest standalone website to eclipse the 10 million per month mark ever. (PR Daily) Tweet This Stat
28) A call-to-action pin description sees an 80% increase in engagement. (Pinerly Study) Tweet This Stat
29) Tutorial & guide/DIY & recipe pins see a 42% higher click-through rate than other pin types. (Pinerly Study) Tweet This Stat
30) Pins related to trending topics see an average of 94% increase in click-throughs. (Pinerly Study) Tweet This Stat
31) The best time to pin during the day is between 2 and 4 PM EST. (Pinerly Study) Tweet This Stat
32) The best time to pin in the evening is between 8 PM and 1 AM EST. (Pinerly Study) Tweet This Stat
33) Shoppers referred by Pinterest are 10% more likely to make a purchase than visitors who arrive from other social networks, including Facebook and Twitter. They'll also spend 10% more on average. (Wayfair) Tweet This Stat
34) Pinterest referrals spend 70% more than visitors referred from non-social channels, including search, according to industry reports. (Wayfair) Tweet This Stat
35) In the month of March 2012, HubSpot's visitor-to-lead conversion rate for Pinterest was 15%, compared to just 9% from Google+. (HubSpot) Tweet This Stat
How have you been using each social network? What insights can you share for other businesses considering the two for marketing?


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Renewed Alamo Gift Shop reopens
With a bit of dramatic flourish befitting the Cradle of Texas Liberty, the Alamo entered a new era Friday in the modern retail frontier, reopening its renovated and "re-imagined" gift store.
"To the people of Texas and all Americans in the world," historical interpreter Wade Dillon, quoting William Barret Travis and dressed as the young Alamo commander, proclaimed as he cut a red ribbon with a Bowie knife to officially reopen the Alamo Gift Shop.
As if on cue, C.C., the black-and-white cat that lives at the state-owned complex, entered the store first, ahead of the media, visitors and workers on the grounds.
The shop still has "coonskin" hats that sell for $9.99, and a wide selection of books in the northwest corner, along with at least three primary new lines of merchandise.
There's a slew of items commemorating an exhibition starting Feb. 23 of Travis' famed "victory of death" letter, from 69-cent pencils to a 2-pound, $39.99 representation of the letter in molded Belgian milk chocolate.
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The actual document will be on display at the Alamo through March 7.
The shop also stocks T-shirts, coffee mugs and other products featuring the work of artist Stephen Fishwick; a new selection of food products; and a counter where home-style Texas fudge will be made in various flavors on-site.
"We're also talking about having a name-that-fudge contest," said Kaye Tucker, project manager with the Texas General Land Office, which oversees the Alamo.
Building on a formula developed by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, the Land Office and Event Network, a national vendor that operates the shop at the Alamo and other historic sites, hope to boost revenues with distinct products that enhance the visitor experience.
The shop had $4.6 million in sales last year under DRT management to support education, security, maintenance and other Alamo operations. That's down 12 percent from the $5.2 million budgeted in 2008.
Sales at the store traditionally have funded 80 percent to 90 percent of operating costs at shrine, which also has donation boxes through the complex. The shop was temporarily moved to Alamo Hall, a meeting facility on the grounds that can be reserved for private events, while the 1937 structure that houses the store was renovated.
A couple from Oklahoma, Matt Causey and his bride, Kayla, were on their honeymoon Friday. Causey, who bought a DVD of the 2004 film "The Alamo," said he was pleased with the store's new décor, layout, artifact displays and products, from toys, maps and wildflower seeds to kitchenware and Western art.
"I thought it was very well done," said Causey, 27. "There are things for people young and old. There's cooking stuff for the gals and gun stuff for the guys."
The Land Office sought to stock items appropriate for a battle site visited by families. Although some trinkets were made in foreign countries, the vendor has tried to buy from local and regional suppliers, Tucker said.
"We've made it clear up front that we wanted to be very conscious of that," she said.
The Alamo also is studying the idea of selling gift cards for the shop, and plans to expand options for online purchases on its website, www.thealamo.org.


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Established in 2004, Natural Paving Products (UK) Ltd (NPP) identified a gap in the market for high quality, ethically sourced natural stone to the domestic landscaping market. Taking an early lead in this field the company quickly began supplying to Builders Merchants and Contractors UK wide.
NPP's commitment to excellent quality and customer service has led to NPP's current ranking as the number one independent supplier of natural stone to the UK landscaping industry, with full UK coverage and activities in the USA and Europe.
Underpinning NPP's success has been its pro-action and dedication to responsible and ethical trading as well as significant product development and the increase in partnerships with global sources. Operating as true market innovators, NPP has been the first supplier to bring a number of products into the UK domestic landscaping market, including 50mm natural stone block paving and complementing natural stone kerbs and edging, suitable for the driveway market.
NPP adheres to the Construction Product Regulations (CPR) and has also developed a user friendly guide to allow users to make informed product selections. Read more about on Stone Standards page.
Setting NPP aside from its competition is the fact that we offer an end to end service, having heavily invested in our supply chain, managing a number of global quarries, processing plants, distribution centres to:
- Ensure that all products are ethically sourced
- Manage the importation, supply and quality of all our products
Constantly developing our professional operations, in 2014, we received the following certifications:
- ISO 9001 - Standard for Quality Management
- ISO 14001 - Standard for Environmental Management
- OHSAS 18001 - Standard for Occupational Health and Safety Management
NPP has an associated complementary range of other landscaping products:


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Talihina football team hits the road Friday night to face Canadian
Kelly Gravitt, Talihina's football coach, could not be happier with his Golden Tigers' 6-0 start to the season, or with how they played in last week's 51-20 victory over Sallisaw-Central at Doc Robinson Stadium."I'm real pleased," Gravitt said. "The kids did a great job Friday night. We came out with a different look in our eyes. In the last seven years I've been here, Sallisaw-Central has been our toughest game. We had a sense of urgency. We didn't let the distractions get to us. The kids came out and got after it early. Before we knew it, we were up 21-0, and that kind of let the wind out of their sails. Our offense and defense played great. When you score 51 points, it's hard to not be pleased with your offense."The Golden Tigers (2-0 in District A-6) will hit the road to meet the Canadian Cougars for another district game at 7:30 p.m. Friday.— — —District A-6 StandingsTeam District Overall +/-Savanna 2-0 6-0 +30Talihina 2-0 6-0 +30Gore 2-1 4-2 +15Sallisaw-Central 2-1 2-4 +15Canadian 1-2 3-2 -15Haileyville 0-2 0-5 -30Quinton 0-3 2-4 -45— — —To Get There — Take Oklahoma State Highway 1 west to McAlester. Take U.S. 69 north to Oklahoma State Highway 113. Take Highway 113 to Canadian.


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At a time when severe weather seems to be increasing, it's good to know gardeners have a resource to help them save prized garden plants and landscapes from destruction. Weather-Resilient Garden: A defensive approach to planning and landscaping, by Charles W.G. Smith (Storey Publishing, 2004; $19.95) provides emergency and long-term solutions for weather-related plant and garden damage.
Smith is a vocational agriculture teacher and former horticulturist with White Flower Farm. He begins his book with recommendations for creating a weather-resilient garden, including descriptions of the 100 top weather-resilient plants. Smith then describes gardens that have weather-related problems involving natural forces such as wind, snow, ice, drought, fire, hail, and flooding. He details ways to save plants when any of these major weather events hit.
For more on the Weather-Resilient Garden, go to: Story Publishing.


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'Glitz' a holiday variation on 'Toddlers & Tiaras'
It's a little bit Charles Dickens and a little bit TLC.
The new holiday musical "Glitz" crosses "A Christmas Carol" with "Toddlers & Tiaras" for another one of writer-director Bert Bernardi's offbeat children's shows.
"It was sort of inspired by those series you see on cable TV," Bernardi said of the many pushy mothers' reality shows, especially "Toddlers & Tiaras" (the launch pad for "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo").
"The ones where you say, `Wow these mothers are so ridiculous,' " he added.
"Glitz," which is subtitled "The Little Miss Christmas Pageant Musical," is being presented at the Center for the Arts in Milford, starting Friday, Dec. 7.
Bernardi said his show reaches the "heart" underneath the craziness of a kiddie beauty pageant through the host "Shade Shams," who is taken on a Scrooge-like journey that involves being visited by the ghosts of pageants past.
"We mash up the reality TV genre with bits of `Christmas Carol' and find the honesty and the heart in the center of the pageant," Bernardi said.
The writer and director developed a huge and loyal following during the many years he spent running the children's theater division at Bridgeport's Downtown Cabaret Theatre.
Because of his pop-culture savvy references, Bernardi's shows in Bridgeport kept the adults in the audience as happy as their kids. Bernardi has continued that tradition with Pantochino Productions, which has been presenting new children's theater at different area locations for the past few years.
"Glitz" has been in the works since last spring.
In addition to the reality show and "Christmas Carol" angles, Bernardi borrows from "A Chorus Line" with an opening scene in which 10 hopeful contestants are quickly winnowed down to five finalists.
"We focus on those five kids and their mothers," he explained, adding that this is by far the biggest show Pantochino has ever produced, in terms of the cast size. "That's exciting and frightening."
Pantochino is a theater without a permanent home yet, so Bernardi and company have been able to produce shows all over the area, from Danbury to New Haven.
"Glitz" is the first show done by the company in Milford and the director said the "cozy" space where the Eastbound Theatre performs has proven perfect for the material.
"The premise is that the show is being done in a little town and this is a lovely space for us to work in," he said.
Pantochino would eventually like to find a permanent space to call its own, Bernardi said, but the company has been able to do a lot of audience building through playing in several different towns and theaters.
"We are very happy that people have been willing to follow us," he said.
email@example.com; 203-330-6332; http://twitter.com/joesview or http://blog.ctnews.com/meyers
Center for the Arts, 40 Railroad Ave., Milford. Friday, Dec. 7-Saturday, Dec. 22. $16. 203-937-6206. www.pantochino.com.


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Since the birth of Kate in December of 2004, things have been rather difficult. First she had to be rescucitated and when they went to bathe her, we discovered she had syndactyly. While still in the hospital, she had a "seizure" and was sent to a Level 1 NICU (Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit). She was placed in a phenobarbital coma for essentially six weeks. Lo and behold she was just twitchy, Benign Sleep Myoclonus of Infancy. We almost AMA'd (against medical advice) her because they said she couldn't eat on her own. It's rather difficult when she's only ever been fed through a tube.
With all that, the syndactyly was trivial. She's already had two surgeries to fix one of her hands and she's got at least two more to go.
Earlier this year (April) we went to remove her tonsils and addenoids and put tubes in to prevent the ever present ear infections. She stood on top of the bed waving like a little princess as they wheeled her into the OR.
All went well with the surgery but afterwards it was obvious that she was having trouble breathing. No big deal, we planned on staying overnight. She'd also been diagnosed with asthma, had a bout of RSV and had numerous emergency room visits for her breathing difficulties.
Kris stayed with her and I went home. Around 4:30 in the morning I get a text from Kris, "She's crashing." Then another, "they're bringing in the crash cart!"
I got in the car and raced down to the hospital, not really knowing what to think.
By the time I got there, they had gotten her stabilized. Whew.
Later that afternoon, she coded, twice. The second time the doctor came out and said he had done all he could, that was just before the chaplain showed up...
Somehow she pulled through. We like to say she gave the reaper the finger, Kris suggested it and I thought it was the most appropriate visual. She's a tough little girl.
The next month was spent at the hospital recovering, and recover she did.
This past August, she finally walked:
She's done remarkably well since the surgery, minus the almost dying part. She no longer snores. She gets a cold and doesn't have to go to the hospital. She talks (well, her mother says she does but it's all gibberish to me, I can make out "Daddy" though). In short, wow!
(And finally to the point)
Last night, her brother "snuck" into our bed around 1:30 or so. I told him to go get his pillows because I wasn't sharing. He came back in (throwing the pillows on his mother) and said that Katie was standing at her door.
Me: What?
Me: You're dreaming right?
LC (Little Chet): Nope.
I went to get up and I see this tiny silhouette by the door. It's Kate.
I just started laughing. This was the first time she had ever done such a thing. So the four of us shared the bed last night. LC got kicked a lot by Kate (ah, sweet revenge) and I hardly slept, but it was well worth it. Probably one of my favorite moments of being a Dad.
I'll always remember The Night of the Walking Kate...
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Night of the Walking Kate
5 comments:
Great post - it's good to see the personal side of people. Your dedication to your family is really inspiring. Best of luck!
- October 5, 2007 at 9:27 AM
What is RSV?
- October 5, 2007 at 9:39 AM
- Debbie said...
There's a great country song called "Let 'Em Be Little." Part of it goes: "Let 'em, let 'em giggle, let 'em sleep in the middle. Ah, let 'em be little."
That was truly a magical moment. You (plural) were overdue for one, and I'm glad it finally happened!
- October 5, 2007 at 9:49 AM
- oraclenerd said...
RSV: http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=5398
I can't pronounce any of that.
- October 5, 2007 at 1:50 PM
"Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish" - John Q. Adams
What a refreshing post Chet- It's amazing what can happen when faith and perseverance lead lives!
- November 27, 2007 at 2:07 PM
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Because the university receives only about 10 percent of its operating budget from the state, donations to the Annual Fund for the Graduate School of Education are the life blood of our mission to prepare the next generation of educational leaders and thinkers.
focus on indoctrination, instilling them with a fear of Hell and God's wrath, will focus on free inquiry and rationalism, the scientific basis for which we know what we know about the world around us. We prefer to give children an appreciation of the natural wonders surrounding them, not a fear of everlasting other-worldly horrors."
The pre-existing presence of evangelical after school clubs not only established a for which school districts must now accept Satanic groups, but the evangelical after school clubs have created the for Satanic after school clubs to offer a contrasting balance to student's extracurricular activities.
are an after school program established by an insidious organization known as the(CEF) whose
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of curriculum literature from 2011, the program places "a heavy emphasis on sin (~5000 mentions), obedience (>1000 mentions), punishment (~1000 mentions), and hell (>250 allusions, including 52 direct uses of the word "Hell"). Children are told, in very personal terms, that they are sinful, wicked, deceitful, and deserving of punishment, death, and an eternity of suffering in hell." The Good News Clubs strive to train children to evangelize to other children to bring them to their religious thinking.
These are the environments into which the(ASSC) are being inserted and, in contrast to the, our curriculum will focus on free inquiry, rationalism, and scientific understanding. Proselytization is not our goal, and we're not interested in converting children to Satanism. However, we feel that our presence in schools that are burdened with the loathsome stink of theserves an anti-indoctrination function, illustrating to children that opposing religious perspectives can be held by moral and responsible people who don't live in fear of divine retribution. We think it's a positive and strong character-developing lesson that we are happy to deliver.
Q: Is Satanism in schools legal?
Yes. The Supreme Court ruled in 2001 in the case ofthat schools operate a "limited public forum" and that, as such, they may not discriminate against religious speech should a religious organization choose to operate an After School Club on their premises. Christian evangelicals — particularly the — have taken advantage of this ruling ever since. As it is illegal for the schools to discriminate against specific religions or preference others, cannot be denied wherever Christian, or any other religious clubs, operate.
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I get your door to door arguement, but I don't think Elon really believes that the solution is entirely door to door. As far as buses go, in most large cities, simply removing the driver, running off electricity, shrinking capacity to around 20-30 and having a self assigned stop selected by passengers so the bus doesn't have to make every single stop, would close the business case for many passengers. It's basically commuter rail with less infrastructure capital and higher frequency.
On the very seperate topic of self driving taxis: (Don't be mistaken, I'm a laymen who only toys with these ideas during my commute and even I could tell it was a seperate strategy)
I've been waiting for someone to champion the electric self driving taxi for years.The market is already heading in this direction. Here in Denver we have a small pool of 2 seater smart cars ran by a company named Car2Go who's main advantage is parking availability and who's main competitor is uber. A small self driving car pool would literally combine the advantages of both companies.
In the end, passenger density is really going to be a variable controlled by profit margin, target audience, and market conditions. These technologies are not moonshots or engineering for the sake of engineering. They are inevitable, and they will all allow increased passenger density. The question is how much density the market, and the people, will want.
I'm not sure that I agree with Elon Musk's plan but the author of this piece, Mr. Walker, leaves out a very important variable in his calculations. He mentions geometry, which in a city is not really a 3 dimensional but a 2 dimensional problem since we don't have flying cars yet. But really this is a 3 dimensional (2 physical and one temporal) problem. It is true that increasing VMK increases the usage of space but he's completely left out time from the function. I'm not talking wait time for the bus, I'm talking how long does the bus occupy the space. If Musk's plan were to increase VMK but drastically reduce the time it takes to go from point A -> point B then the net effect may be a reduction of emissions, wait time, or other variables that lead to a positive effect. Take the function to it's extreme. Assume that Musk's vehicle can travel at near the speed of light. Assuming objects don't crash into each other going that fast I could theoretically make VMK infinitely large because the objects traveling the road occupy that space for an incredibly small amount of time.
Musk being right or wrong is one thing but I'd suggest not going on the attack about the 'maths' and then sort of bungling the math.
Sounds like the author has a bias towards liking fixed route transit. Musk's plans sound like a godsend to me, especially in LA where there has been quite a bit of activity in the area of fixed route transit. But there's a whole lot more cars. Way too many. There's a reason for this. The fixed route options are too slow and inconvenient for most people. The problem with a car is that once you get to your destination you have to park it. That costs money and, if you're parking at work it generally means that your car sits taking up valuable space (geometry) for about 8 hours.


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"Somewhere a Dog Barked"
Pick up just about any novel and you'll find a throwaway reference to a dog, barking in the distance.
As a reader of novels and not much else, I keep a running list of authorial whims. Male writers of the Roth/Updike generation, for example, love the word cunt. Also, where novelists once adorned their prose with offhand French bon mots, Spanish now appears. Here's another: Novelists can't resist including a dog barking in the distance. I've seen it happen across the spectrum—Jackie Collins, William Faulkner, and Chuck Palahniuk: "There was no more rain, just an eerie stillness, a deathly silence. Somewhere a dog barked mournfully." (American Star) "She did not answer for a time. The fireflies drifted; somewhere a dog barked, mellow sad, faraway." (Light in August) "This is such a fine neighborhood. I jump the fence to the next backyard and land on my head in somebody's rose bush. Somewhere a dog's barking." (Choke)
Having heard the dog's call, it seemed like I couldn't find a book without one. Not The Death of Ivan Ilyich. Not Shadow Country. Not Ulysses. Not Robert Penn Warren's All The King's Men, or Monica Ali's Alentejo Blue, or Stephen King's Itor Christine. Not Jodi Picoult's House Rules. If novelists share anything, it's a distant-dog impulse. Picture an author at work: She's exhausted, gazing at her laptop and dreaming about lunch. "[Author typing.] Boyd slammed the car door shut. He stared at his new condominium, with the for-sale sign in the yard. He picked up a pistol and pointed it at his head. [Author thinking, Now what? Gotta buy time.] Somewhere a dog barked. [Author thinking, Hmm, that'll do.] Then Boyd remembered he did qualify for the tax rebate for first-time home buyers, and put down the gun."If a novel is an archeological record of 4.54 billion decisions, then maybe distant barking dogs are its fossils, evidence of the novelist working out an idea.
Trains whistle, breezes blow, dogs bark. You're thinking, "So what if novels are full of barking dogs? The world is full of them, too." But I don't find it curious when actual dogs turn up in novels. Dogs that authors bother to describe, or turn into characters, don't pull me out of my reading trance. The thing is, these so-called dogs are nameless and faceless, and frankly I doubt them; it's the curious incident when one actually does come into view. Really, are there so many out-of-sight, noisy dogs in the world? Listen: My bet is you'll hear a highway, an A/C unit, or another human before a dog starts yelping.
Literary barking dogs come in two breeds. First is the classic, "A dog barks in the distance." Modern, unassuming, lacking airs. Some authors use it well. In Cities of the Red Night, William Burroughsemploys it to make sex more comical: "A dog barks in the distance. We take off our shirts and pants and hang them on wooden pegs. He turns towards me, his shorts sticking out at the fly. 'That stuff makes me hot,' he says. 'Shall we camel?' " In Virginia Woolf's Jacob's Room, a distant dog offers an opportunity for lyricism: "It was too hot to walk. A dog barked, barked, barked down in the hollow. The liquid shadows went over the plain." And in A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, when Dave Eggers' narrator is driven mad while trying to help a friend who may have overdosed on pills, a bit of projection helps amplify his distress: "There is a dog barking outside. The dog is going nuts."
The other common breed is "Somewhere a dog barks." In Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five, the phrase is terror's church bell. It's also an auditory motif that evolves, as "Somewhere a big dog is barking" gives way to "With the help of fear and echoes and winter silences, that dog had a voice like a big bronze gong." And it works. It works because it's deliberate.
Most authors, however, employ the trope as a narrative rest stop, an innocuous way to fill space and time; since the bark is hollow, a reader can read anything into it, or nothing at all. Charlaine Harris, queen of the vampire authors, in Dead as a Doornail: "The entire parking lot was empty, except for Jan's car. The glare of the security lights made the shadows deeper. I heard a dog bark way off in the distance." The chief of Scandinavian crime writers, Henning Mankell: "She begins to tell him. The curtain in the kitchen window flutters gently, and a dog barks in the distance" (The Eye of the Leopard). And "genre" books aren't the only guilty category. Take 2666, Robert Bolaño'smagnum opus: "The window looked out over the garden, which was still lit. A scent of flowers and wet grass drifted into the room. In the distance he heard a dog bark." For all we know, these dogs are off-camera sound machines set to woof.
When confronted with an uninspiring unseen bark, I like to pretend the dog is Lassie's cousin, bearing a message.
Richard Ford, Independence Day: "From the linden tree shade, Kristy hears something in the afternoon breeze—a dog barking somewhere, my son in our car. She turns and looks toward me, puzzled."
Translation: Watch out, the boy is reprogramming your favorite FM stations!
Tobias Wolff, Old School: "During our worst dreams we are assured by a dog barking somewhere, a refrigerator motor kicking on, that we will soon wake to true life."
Translation: No transcendence until you get the fridge fixed!
T.C. Boyle, Riven Rock: "In two days he'd be back on the train to New Jersey. There was a dog barking somewhere. He could smell beef and gravy on her breath."
Translation: That bitch just ate my liver!
These howls are empty and cheap—and I'll float the opinion that publishers should collar them. Imagine if F. Scott Fitzgerald's editor had let slip, "It was dark now, and as we dipped under a little bridge I put my arm around Jordan's golden shoulder and drew her toward me and asked her to dinner. Somewhere a dog barked. Suddenly I wasn't thinking of Daisy and Gatsby any more, but of this clean, hard, limited person. …"
Unless the disembodied barks aren't sloppy mistakes. Unless, in fact, they serve a deeper, more conspiratorial purpose. Martin Amis says, "All writing is a campaign against cliché." Well, what if these dogs aren't just cliché, but something more? What if they're a meme? Perhaps distant dogs are a way for novelists to wink at one another, at their extraordinary luck for being allowed into the publishing club. When an author incorporates a faceless barking dog into his novel, he's like an amateur at Harlem's Apollo Theater rubbing the Tree of Hope—he does it because so many others have done it before him, and it might just bring him some luck. Look at (Pulitzer Prize-winning) To Kill a Mockingbird: "Ripe chinaberries drummed on the roof when the wind stirred, and the darkness was desolate with the barking of distant dogs." Look at (National Book Award winner) Let The Great World Spin: "The street throbbed around me. Nobody's fault but my own. The bark of a dog flew by." Indeed, look at Martin Amis in his latest novel, The Pregnant Widow: "Keith closed his eyes and searched for troubled dreams. The dogs in the valley barked. And the dogs in the village, not to be outdone, barked back."
I saw my friend Nic Brown last week, whose first novel, like mine (You Lost Me There), is being published this summer. (Nic's book, Doubles, is hysterically funny). I asked Nic if he'd joined the grand tradition by including either "A dog barks in the distance" or "Somewhere a dog barks." I explained how, in fact, I'd done so myself—unconsciously, in an early draft—but decided to leave it in, partially to test my theory but mostly because it's contextual to a sex scene involving other canine behavior. Nic looked at me like I was nuts. "Dude, what are you talking about?" He said he doubted it—it sounded awfully cliché. We played tennis, then parted ways. An hour later Nic sent me an e-mail: "You won't believe this. Doubles, Page 108: 'Somewhere a dog barked, and it awakened me to my own physical condition.' But the dog then appears a few lines later, so he does exist." That's all I ask.
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Open Thread: Talk About What Matters Most to You
Discuss and debate the issues that mean the most to you.
I am used to getting the call in which a reluctant voice says, "I was raped." I used to carry a pager and get that call at all hours, racing to emergency rooms to counsel women through the byzantine maze of emotions, doctors, cops and -- for lucky ones -- lawyers that were soon to come.
However, I was not used to getting the call in which a dear friend of mine says, "I am being accused of rape." And I was certainly not used to saying, "Did you do it?"
It seems like a simple question to answer. But he, like many people, struggled with it. He didn't answer. So I asked the question from another angle, "What did she say happened?"
"She said I raped her," he answered.
"Well, then you probably did. What exactly happened?"
This is where this particular story becomes much more general. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it is a scene whose generalities are probably repeated every night, somewhere. And they rarely happen in the tidy confines of a dark alley, with a stranger who is clearly a "rapist" and a woman who is clearly being victimized. More often than not, rape happens amongst people who know each other, and the rapist is not someone carrying a villainous cloak and look of ill intent. The rapist is just a person who may genuinely not realize that what he's doing is rape.
My friend, for instance, was genuinely unsure, which was why he called me. At the time, I was fresh from giving a rousing talk at SlutWalk, in which I very clearly stated that the only person responsible for rape is the rapist. I said that no matter what a woman is wearing or doing, no one has the right to touch her without her explicit consent. It was a great talk.
But it cannot undo generations of training in which the goal of getting dressed and going out is to get the guy or get the girl and hook up or get lucky. In this training, we are taught that in order to get the guy, we have to look sexy -- and sometimes have sex. The training has also taught men that the reason we dress up and look sexy is to "catch him." We even use those words, as if our bodies themselves are the lure, and our sexuality the hook.
In this particular case, I had watched the woman in question flirt aggressively with my friend for weeks. I had watched her sit on his lap, dance with him, twirl his hair in her fingers. I had seen her at parties discussing the various kinds of sex work she had done, and the pleasure with which she explored her own very fluid sexuality, all while looking my friend straight in the eye.
Only she knows what signals she intended to send out. But many of us can guess the signals he received.
This is not a "some girls, they rape so easy" story. I promise. This is a "some signals, they read so wrong" story. And the fault is not hers, it's ours -- all of ours -- for not explaining what these signals DON'T mean, even if we don't know exactly what they DO mean.
On the night in question, there was drinking. A lot of it. I wasn't there, but there was probably some drugging. There was music and dancing. At some point, people started clustering off into smaller groups, some of which turned sexual. My friend and this woman fell asleep together. And by all accounts, when she woke up, he was penetrating her.
Which is to say that she was asleep when he started to penetrate her. She did not consent prior. Anything said after the penetration is beside the point, so I'm leaving it out on purpose. It is the mixed signals of everything leading up to this moment that are the point of this story.
In my mind, this was rape. Because being hot, flirty, frolicky and drunk is NOT consent. Putting your penis in a woman without her consent is rape. Being drunk was not an excuse for either party. The responsibility was not on her to say "stop," it was on him to ask if it's okay before he did it. This part is simple.
To some of you, it may sound ridiculous when I say that my friend is a really sweet guy. He was devastated at the allegation of rape, and even more so at my confirmation that it was rape. We spent a week or so exploring how this could have happened. Not excusing it, but trying to understand it. With him, the conversations were painful and beautiful, and he understood. He claimed it, at least to me, and learned a hard lesson: He had committed rape. That "nice guys" can do that.
Still, the fact that he is a nice guy doesn't make it okay. Ever.
Within the community at large, there were much harder discussions centering on how it was that he thought penetrating her while she was asleep was okay, but any discussion of her behavior leading up to it was taboo. Any suggestion that her behavior may have led to -- NOT JUSTIFIED OR EXCUSED -- the rape was met with screams of "victim blaming" and "rape apology."
But to run from this part of the discussion is to let the problem stagnate and fester.
There are two simple truths here:
1. She had every right to do everything she was doing and fully expect to be safe from rape. (She was right.)
2. He believed that everything she was doing was an invitation to have sex. (He was wrong.)
The problem is not that she's a "slut." The implications of that word make my brain shrivel when sprinkled with the salty insinuations that so often accompany it: that a woman who exhibits a fondness for her own sexuality is somehow inviting anyone who sees her to have sex with her.
The problem isn't even that he's a rapist.
The problem is that no one is taking responsibility for the mixed messages about sex and sexuality in which we are stewing. And no one is taking responsibility for teaching people how the messages we are sending are often being misunderstood.
Just to be painfully clear, the ONLY thing that counts as consent to have sex is the word "YES," accompanied with any form of "I would like to have sex with you." But we need to stop denying that we sell sex as the reason for everything -- from what car to buy, to why to work out to what clothes will help us "get ahead." In our world, sex is the end game. Period. Anything shy of sex is quitting, or worse, losing.
We use other's people's assessment of whether or not we are "hot" to feel good about ourselves. After all, the question we ask when we get dressed is "how do I look," not "how do I feel?" And "look" in this case is meant to mean, "Will other people find me attractive?"
Magazines and web sites feature an endless barrage of "How to get your guy or girl to do _____" and most of it is based on using looks and/or sex to get something. We walk a really fine tightrope between seeking validation and sending out signals that are easily misinterpreted as an invitation.
To continue ignoring these truths is going to keep getting us in trouble. Not because we need to change how we walk, talk or dress (personally, I love putting on a corset and leather pants to go out), but because we need to teach people that anything short of verbal consent is not an invitation to stick any part of your body on or in any part of anyone else's body.
To a large degree, my friend thought he was doing what was expected. And while he was wrong, weeks of flirting, provocative dancing and intimate innuendo led him to believe that sex was the logical conclusion of their social intercourse. Many people watching it unfold would have thought that, too.
Of course they would all be wrong. But if something walks like a fuck and talks like fuck, at what point are we supposed to understand that it's not a fuck? Our binary language of "yes means yes" and "no means no" doesn't address the entire spectrum of both spoken language and body language, which mean different things to different people.
I would love for "no means no" to work, but it doesn't.
How do I know it doesn't work? I know because my friend raped someone and didn't even know it. I know because on any given night, people who think they are having drunk party sex with a partner who wants it are actually committing rape. Rape, although clear as hell at the ends of the spectrum, often exists in the dark murky world of mixed signals, confusing messages and alcohol. It happens to "good girls" who didn't ask for it, and it happens at the hands of "good guys" who honestly didn't know that's what they were doing.
But it's still rape. We often try to call it something else. We give it the name "date rape," as if that's softer and gentler. My friend didn't commit actual rape, it was "just date rape." Nope. That doesn't fly. Rape is rape. The question is, why is it happening?
In order to get to that answer we need to first abolish the idea that all rape is about power and violence. It's not. Some rape begins as the earnest belief that sex is going to happen, and that it should. The confusion starts with misreading socially accepted cues. Like, for instance, the cue that says, She's dressed in a way that I find sexy, and she's flirting with me, so that means we're going to have sex. That is not an illogical conclusion. A lot of times, that's exactly the case. But not always.
The confusion about when social intercourse turns into sexual intercourse is real, and we are all, in large part, to blame for it because we don't address the underlying mythologies and mixed messages about what sex is. Without letting anyone off the hook for committing rape, we have to look at how we are all accomplices in making women's bodies and sexuality a prize and something to which some men feel entitled, especially when they're wrapped in pleasing packages and smiling in an inviting way. So while the individual rapist is solely responsible for the rape he committed, we all -- as a society -- are responsible for the culture that created the confusion.
We need to change the emotional algebra with which we interpret social cues. We need to go from "sexy = sex" to "someone else's sexuality doesn't have anything to do with me." We need to teach people that sex, as awesome as it is, is not the goal. We need to teach people that we each have the right to express our sexuality any way we want -- in our movement, our dress, our language -- and that it is not an invitation.
Just because someone has a sexuality does not entitle you to use it any more than someone else having a car entitles you to drive it.
Nice girls get raped. Nice guys commit rape. And it can happen the other way too. I have known men who felt violated when a date touched them in a sexual manner that they didn't want. And certainly, if a guy wakes up to a woman "riding" him without his consent, that's rape too. Whether or not it would be perceived as such is a much larger question, much less why.
I know from experience that there are many men who feel they have been violated but don't even know what to call it, because they have been led to believe that they are supposed to get -- or at least want -- sex all the time. But the simple fact is that consent needs to be the first order of business when having sex. Otherwise, well, it's not sex, it's rape.
Rape is what happens when we aren't allowed to discuss sex and sexuality as if it were as natural as food, and instead shroud it in mysterious languages and grant it mysterious powers and lust for it like Gollum after the ring. Rape is what happens we don't even understand what sex and sexuality are, but use them for everything anyway.
My friend ended up leaving town. He left for a lot of reasons, but this was certainly a major part of it. And when his name comes up, there are knowing glances -- disdain and remorse and a sort of sadness because he "was such a nice guy." I don't expect to hear from him again. I haven't heard from her either, though we were never friends and I'm sure that my willingness to explore the nuance was seen as excusing him.
What happened to her was wrong. My friend raped her. But I am still trying to figure out why. And no, it's not as simple as the fact that he put his penis in her. It is a lot more complicated than that. And we need to talk about it.
Photo: Parody magazine cover courtesy of the author. Reprinted with permission from The Good Men Project. Want more?
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Venture behind the former Iron Curtain with Falcon Studios! Shot in full sync-sound, our new collection of international all-male videos begins by roaming and exploring the athletic bodies of eastern Europe. Falcon proudly presents the first video of the Falcon International Collection-'Accidental Lovers', a warm look at five chance encounters of these men!FILMED ON LOCATION IN EASTERN EUROPE.Michal Tarkus happens upon Dano Sulik who is spray painting a wall with phallic pictures. The two hook up and take it indoors where they both get into a long suck session before Michal finally takes control Dano?s ass and gives him a satisfying fuck. Slavo Jarowsky and Martin Valko meet at a public swimming pool and take it back to a hotel room. Slavo and Martin each take turns sucking cock but it is Martin who bangs Slavo's hole over and over again in as the two young studs explore the limits of lust. School chums Tomas Meyer and Marek Smolik enjoy a bike ride in the country. The two lusty lads play hide and seek under an abandoned cabin?winner take all. Tomas and Marek lick, suck, fondle and fuck their way to satisfaction. Tomas finishes the scene by fucking Marek on the porch, finally quenching his desire. Roman Gregor and Andrej Sovinski cruise each other at the station and end up on an abandoned train sucking and fucking each other. Roman?s smoldering handsome looks are enough to convince Andrej Sovinski to bend over for his large cock. Andrej wants it all and Roman is eager to comply. Dano Sulik and Marek Smolik cruise each other on the beach and bring it back to the hotel room for some serious one on one action. These lusty studs stroke, kiss, rim and suck their way into a sexual frenzy before Dano fucks Marek every which way but loose.
- Language:
- English
- Country:
- Czech Republic
- Studio:
- Falcon
- Run Time:
- 90 minutes
- Release Date:
- 27-05-2015
- Ref#:
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